Sepideh Parvizpour
1,2* 
, Hanieh Beyrampour-Basmenj
2, Jafar Razmara
3* , Farhad Farhadi
4, Mohd Shahir Shamsir
51 Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Biomedicine Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
2 Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
3 Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
4 Food and Drug Administration, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
5 Bioinformatics Research Group, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Abstract
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and one of the greatest challenges in extending life expectancy. The paradigm of one-size-fits-all medicine has already given way to the stratification of patients by disease subtypes, clinical characteristics, and biomarkers (stratified medicine). The introduction of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in clinical oncology has made it possible to tailor cancer patient therapy to their molecular profiles. NGS is expected to lead the transition to precision medicine (PM), where the right therapeutic approach is chosen for each patient based on their characteristics and mutations. Here, we highlight how the NGS technology facilitates cancer treatment. In this regard, first, precision medicine and NGS technology are reviewed, and then, the NGS revolution in precision medicine is described. In the sequel, the role of NGS in oncology and the existing limitations are discussed. The available databases and bioinformatics tools and online servers used in NGS data analysis are also reviewed. The review ends with concluding remarks.